Deduction

"Hallo there Shraxy! Check out this lot of freshmen that I'm towing along. Real babies, aren't they? I've got to drop them off at 'Linear Algebra Day Care'. See you for lunch? Right-o. On my way!"

"Alright Pat! Don't you 'Sherlock Holmes' your group and scare them off, before Prof R has a shot at them!"

It was the first day of college. We, first years, had just been administered with: One, half-hour Buck-U-Uppo speech by the Director, a folder containing our timetables and Pat. Pat was supposed to "nanny us a bit and make sure we were fed to Professor R of Linear Algebra in time", as she put it. She was a senior, majoring in Chemistry.

"What did she mean when she said "Don't Sherlock Holmes" us?" asked a tall, gangly boy whose name I later learned to be Mike.

Pat looked at him and laughed. "It means nothing, freshie! Except, I can see that you have an older brother who is punctilious in dressing. You on the other hand are not. You play the guitar and if I am to hazard a guess, the Music Society here will be pleased to have you, as you play well. You stayed with relatives last night and came here this morning by train. Your parents have not accompanied you here. You've stayed in Mumbai before for a reasonable amount of time. Am I right?"

"Yes! But- but how?!"

We gazed in mute astonishment at our guide.
"You must know him!-She must!" several of my classmates cried out.

"I don't! Now listen here my pets. Seeing is different from observing, just as Sherlock Holmes said. You've come to this University to become engineers. Observation is a key skill in Science. It will help you extract the vital from the extraneous. Once you do that, every problem can be broken down to its essence. Do you understand?"

We had arrived at the classroom by now and already we could hear the Professor inside instructing everyone to take their seats. Pat ushered us. I hung back.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

Pat tried gently pushing me inside the classroom. She realized very soon that the only way she could get rid of me was by answering my question.

"Very Simple. His shirt did not fit him properly about the shoulders. Clearly it was a hand me down. Who was the hander- An elder brother? Several buttons have been sown on again (You could tell by the slightly different colored thread used). Therefore his brother was punctilious about dressing. The way our friend scuffed his sleeves up clearly shows he, on the other hand is not! Next; In my experience, when freshmen first come to University, they are brushed, soaped and starched to within an inch of their lives. In addition, their nails are ALWAYS cut short. The nail of his right index finger was long. (He is obviously right handed from the way he slung his bag around his right shoulder). Why does a teenage boy have long nails? To play the guitar without a pick, my dear . However, the nails on his left hand were also long. Therefore he uses his left hand to more than strum. Clearly, he plays Flamenco style guitar. Only someone who is very good can do that. Next, (I'm afraid you're going to be disappointed when you hear this) I saw a local Mumbai ticket sticking out of his pocket which meant he had traveled by train. Parents not accompany him? Well if his parents had, ten to one, his mother or father would have bought the tickets and held on to them. He would not have his own ticket with him. Which Indian parent is comfortable with letting their child do battle with the Mumbai local train for the first time alone, on such an important occasion as joining college? He has clearly lived here before and traveled by train in the past. Does that satisfy you now?

What is that? Stay at a hotel? My dear, please! Everyone has some relation or the other in Mumbai! I mean it's Mumbai! He definitely stayed with relatives."


In a daze, I mumbled an affirmative and allowed Pat to firmly push me inside the classroom. I don't remember much of that first lecture anymore, but I sure remembered Pat!



(To be continued)